In the winter of 2014-2015 Justin “Trauma” Lichter and Shawn “Pepper” Forry became the first people to complete the Pacific Crest Trail in winter. That’s 2,650 miles of continuous winter backpacking which is absolutely insane. Two years later they released this book which contains not only a wealth of knowledge on winter backpacking but also an appendix containing their PCT gear lists. I picked this up at the beginning of November and despite not being much for physical books these days I’ve had trouble putting it down. During a bout of insomnia I finally finished it around 4 in the morning a few nights ago.

What I Learned

  • A quinzhee is a snow shelter I’d never even heard of. It’s sort of a reverse igloo: instead of building a dome out of blocks you pile up snow, stamp it down into a dome, and then hollow out the inside.
  • A combination of a Titanium Goat WiFi stove and ultralight stove jack allows you to have a wood-burning stove inside your tent for under two pounds! (note: it appears that the owner of Titanium Goat recently passed away and the product situation is up in the air). This allows you to reliably dry out your gear night after night.
  • Undercutting your deadman anchors (meaning, angling the hole inwards toward the tent as it descends) will help prevent them from popping up out of the snow.
  • Using a trucker’s hitch to tie off to deadman anchors constructed with rocks or branches will allow you to recover your cord in the morning without having to dig up the anchor.
  • Their preferred sleeping arrangement was an oversized synthetic quilt over a down quilt or bag on top of an XTherm and Thinlight, all inside a bivy.
  • Membrane filters (e.g. Sawyers) don’t work during winter since they are rendered useless by freezing. Instead prefer chemical purifiers such as chlorine dioxide (e.g. Potable Aqua).
  • Voile Straps are indispensible for attaching skis or other large gear to backpacks.
  • Zipper bags such as Ziplocs make decent vapor barrier liners for your feet. Having had durability issues with bread bags and size issues with dog bags this seems like it might be a solid option.
  • Waxless or fishscale skis (i.e. those with permanent skins) are best because they require less maintenance than using dedicated skins.
  • Hybrid snowshoe skis such as the Altai Hok or Marquette Backcountry Ski excel at cross-country travel over varied snow terrain. They’re almost as good as snowshoes going uphill with the added bonus of being able to slide downhill. My pair of Hoks arrives Friday and I couldn’t be more excited.
  • Vaseline can be used on exposed skin to prevent windburn and chillblains.
  • In the northern hemisphere wind circles low pressure systems in a counterclockwise direction. You can use this to locate the center of approaching storms and determine whether they’re going to cross your path.
  • In a rescue situation the universal aircraft signaling signs are arms up in a “V” to indicate that you need help (together with your body this forms the letter “Y” for “Yes I need help”) or one arm pointed up and the other down such that they form a diagonal slash across your chest (forming a partial “N” as in “No I do not need help”). See also documentation on other available letters.
  • The universal signal for help is threes. Three whistle blasts, three piles of rock, three flashes of light, three brightly colored jackets in the snow – whatever it is, if it’s in threes then aircraft and other search and rescue personnel will know what is going on.
  • The Pieps Micro BT is the smallest and lightest avalanche beacon on the market (at least as of 2017 according to the book and 2018 according to Outdoor Gear Lab).
  • Wolf lichen can be used as a fire starter.

Next Steps

I’ve always been a three-season guy when it comes to the outdoors but this winter – especially now that I’ve got a cabin in the mountains where it routinely gets four feet of snow – I’ve resolved to turn it up to four seasons. After reading this book I feel like I’ve been given a huge leg up as far as knowledge of technique and equipment options which should help get things started. As mentioned earlier I’ve already ordered a pair of Altai Hok snowshoe skis which should combine the maneuverability and hill-climbing of snowshoes with the ability to downhill ski – this is exactly the product I was looking for and before this book I had no idea it even existed. Even better, the universal shoeshoe-style bindings mean I can use my existing winter boots without having to blow a bunch of money on ski boots and bindings. I am dying to take these things out – this weekend can’t come fast enough!

The other big takeaway was that my clothing and insulation system definitely needs work. I’ll need a beefier down puffy, a second synthetic quilt, and possibly down gloves and booties as well. Oh, and gaiters.

Final Word

If you’re looking for a giant bundle of winter backpacking goodness from what I would consider to be two of the most experienced winter backpackers on the planet, look no further than Ultralight Winter Travel.

($16.13, 773g)